This proclamation by the old man was met by silence from both Elanev and Daneel, who could only stare at him while he smiled broadly, clearly very proud of himself.
Daneel recovered first.
His head full of questions, he asked, "Care to elaborate?"
For the life of him, he couldn't imagine what this old man who had apparently been in a pedestal for the past thousands of years could have done to infiltrate one of the Big Four and set up such an elaborate scheme to train a disciple.
Still beaming, the old man first looked at Elanev, who shuddered with fear both because of his expression which spoke volumes, and the statement he had just heard where he had said that he would soon see "real hell".
Then what the hell had he seen so far?
Turning to Daneel, the old man began to answer his question.
"I already told you that I bond with promising Fighters and travel with them by splitting my consciousness and giving them the skills they need, right? That was how I set up the Training Hall all in your kingdom. Well, over the years, there were certain Fighters who were so promising that they managed to enter the Big 4, itself, and even reach high positions from where they could pass down orders that would stay in effect for generations. But, I knew I was playing the long game. So, instead of using this strategy of laying down orders, I decided to have those fighters instruct their disciples, and then the disciples of those disciples after them that they would have to carry out a task if they were truly grateful to their master. That task… Was to identify and help the one who displayed certain techniques, no matter at what time they appeared, because it would mean that that person was the successor of their grand-grand-whatever master. I won't go into the details - suffice it to say that I made a very elaborate tale which would not be doubted by anyone. Basically, it seems that one of those plans paid off - a disciple in the Big 4 must have taken a high position, and is now carrying out that instruction of mine. Boy, I'm telling you, you really should feel lucky. There can definitely be no other master who thinks so much for their disciple. What can I say? The credit goes to my master, who taught me everything that I'm teaching you. Ah, you should have seen the way he laughed whenever I screamed during all those times when I was close to death. Of course, it was only through those experiences that I got strong enough to bee a vassal Hero of the Emperor. Anyway, prepare yourself. I would suggest that you say your goodbyes, because the training you're about to undergo is definitely not for the fainthearted."
Hearing this, Elanev looked to Daneel with a terrified expression on his face, as if begging for help.
Clearly, his elder brother was not looking forward to this, but then he knew that he was the sort of man who might react in this way initially and be afraid, but when the time came, he would definitely step up and give everything he had.
So, deciding to have a little fun at his expense, the King of Lanthanor walked forward and laid his hand on Elanev's shoulder solemnly, as if mourning him already.
"You will be missed," he said, before bursting out into laughter.
Daneel couldn't help it, as he knew that even though the old man was scaring Elanev in this way, he definitely cared enough for him that he was willing to use this opportunity which was definitely one of a kind just to train him. No one would let such a precious disciple die, especially during training.
So, this was just some kind of psychological conditioning which his elder brother would have to go through.
The laughter made Elanev curse under his breath and look to the side, but the old man interrupted both of them.
After the story, he seemed to have slipped into a reminiscing mode, which made him speak almost like he had forgotten that there were other people in the room.
"Ah, I miss those times. When was the last time I felt a woman's touch? It must have been 300 years ago…"
Wait… What?
Both Elanev and Daneel were similarly dumbfounded. Why was a spirit talking about a woman's touch?
Their shock made the old man snapped to his senses, and as he looked at them, he smiled and launched into an explanation filled with weird expressions.
"What, do you think I'm one of those damned spirits whose only thoughts are about getting stronger? There is so much more to life, dammit! What's the point of longevity and power if one doesn't enjoy their life? In my time, I was quite the voyeur… Why would I let that go just because I became a spirit? Sometimes, I made a few wrong judgments… Fighters who got into a bond with me would occasionally turn out to be heartless murderers or rapists who would do whatever they wanted. I despise such people. So, I would… ehem, guide them to a state where their brain would be dead, allowing me to take over their body and live a full life. A businessman, a traveling merchant, a mercenary, a farmer - I have reprised all of those roles, and I always make sure to get as rich as possible so that I can have a blast. Oh, and I left behind quite a lot of sons and daughters all around the world. Well, most of them are just normal people, so you don't need to think about them. Now that I think about it, I quite miss it… Maybe after the threat is past, I'll do so again!"
Toward the end of the old man's long speech, he was speaking more to himself than to the two in front of him, which was why he didn't notice the extreme expressions of bewilderment on their faces.
Both of them had one thought going through their minds.
What the… f*ck!?
Although this guy had never given them the vibe of some wise old master whose knowledge would awe young Fighters, they could never have guessed that he had had such an… Illustrious past.
As Daneel heard all this, a very crucial question appeared in his mind.
"If spirits can do all this… Why don't they just amuse themselves in this way and not go crazy?
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